Taipei People
''Taipei People'' () is a collection of 14 short stories written by Pai Hsien-yung in the 1960s, published in 1971. The length and art of each story is different, but all these short stories are about people who came from Mainland China to Taiwan in the 1950s, and about their life in Taipei. Some of the stories were also published in Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream (1968). Context "Taipei People" is the iconic literary work reflecting the experience of people from Mainland China ("mainlanders", waishengren) who fled to Taiwan following the War of Resistance against Japan and the Chinese Civil War and founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Structure and Format The format and topic of this book is often compared to James Joyce's "Dubliners". Both of the books are short story series, and they are all about people in a certain city. Also, another book of Pai Hsien-yung called "New Yorkers" are similar to the two books. Themes Although these people ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Short Stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest types of literature and has existed in the form of legends, mythic tales, folk tales, fairy tales, tall tales, fables and anecdotes in various ancient communities around the world. The modern short story developed in the early 19th century. Definition The short story is a crafted form in its own right. Short stories make use of plot, resonance, and other dynamic components as in a novel, but typically to a lesser degree. While the short story is largely distinct from the novel or novella/short novel, authors generally draw from a common pool of literary techniques. The short story is sometimes referred to as a genre. Determining what exactly defines a short story has been recurrently problematic. A classic definition of a short story i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Peking Opera
Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China. Major performance troupes are based in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. The art form is also preserved in Taiwan, where it is also known as (). It has also spread to other regions such as the United States and Japan. Peking opera features four main role types, '' sheng'' (gentlemen), ''dan'' (women), '' jing'' (rough men), and '' chou'' (clowns). Performing troupes often have several of each variety, as well as numerous secondary and tertiary performers. With their elaborate and colorful costumes, performers are the only focal points on Peking opera's characteristically sparse stage. They use the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums (), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' in the family Asteraceae. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia and the center of diversity is in China.Liu, P. L., et al. (2012)Phylogeny of the genus ''Chrysanthemum'' L.: Evidence from single-copy nuclear gene and chloroplast DNA sequences.''PLOS One'' 7(11), e48970. . Countless horticultural varieties and cultivars exist. Description The genus ''Chrysanthemum'' are perennial herbaceous flowering plants, sometimes subshrubs. The leaves are alternate, divided into leaflets and may be pinnatisect, lobed, or serrate (toothed) but rarely entire. The compound inflorescence is an array of several flower heads, or sometimes a solitary head. The head has a base covered in layers of phyllaries. The simple row of ray florets is white, yellow, or red. The disc florets are yellow. Pollen grains are approximately 34 mic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Guilin
Guilin ( Standard Zhuang: ''Gveilinz''; alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the north. Its name means "forest of sweet osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant sweet osmanthus trees located in the region. The city has long been renowned for its scenery of karst topography. Guilin is one of China's most popular tourist destinations, and the epithet "By water, by mountains, most lovely, Guilin" () is often associated with the city. The State Council of China has designated Guilin a National Famous Historical and Cultural City, doing so in the first edition of the list. History Before the Qin dynasty, Guilin region was settled by the Baiyue people. In 314 BC, a small settlement was established along the banks of the Li River. During the Qin dynasty's (221–206 BC) campaigns against the state of Nanyue, the fi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tu Fu
Du Fu (; 712–770) was a Tang dynasty poet and politician. Along with his elder contemporary and friend Li Bai (Li Po), he is frequently called the greatest of the Chinese poets.Ebrey, 103. His greatest ambition was to serve his country as a successful civil servant, but he proved unable to make the necessary accommodations. His life, like the whole country, was devastated by the An Lushan Rebellion of 755, and his last 15 years were a time of almost constant unrest. Although initially he was little-known to other writers, his works came to be hugely influential in both Chinese and Japanese literary culture. Of his poetic writing, nearly fifteen hundred poems have been preserved over the ages. He has been called the "Poet-Historian" and the "Poet-Sage" by Chinese critics, while the range of his work has allowed him to be introduced to Western readers as "the Chinese Virgil, Horace, Ovid, Shakespeare, Milton, Burns, Wordsworth, Béranger, Hugo or Baudelaire".Hung, 1. Li ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wuchang Uprising
The Wuchang Uprising was an armed rebellion against the ruling Qing dynasty that took place in Wuchang (now Wuchang District of Wuhan), Hubei, China on 10 October 1911, beginning the Xinhai Revolution that successfully overthrew China's last imperial dynasty. It was led by elements of the New Army, influenced by revolutionary ideas from Tongmenghui. The uprising and the eventual revolution directly led to the downfall of the Qing dynasty with almost three centuries of imperial rule, and the establishment of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China (ROC), which commemorates the anniversary of the uprising's starting date of October 10, 10 October as the National Day of the Republic of China. The uprising originated from Railway Protection Movement, popular unrest about a railway crisis, and the planning process took advantage of the situation. On 10 October 1911, the New Army stationed in Wuchang launched an assault on the residence of the Viceroy of Huguang. The v ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dream Of The Red Chamber
''Dream of the Red Chamber'' (''Honglou Meng'') or ''The Story of the Stone'' (''Shitou Ji'') is a novel composed by Cao Xueqin in the middle of the 18th century. One of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, it is known for its psychological scope, and its observation of the worldview, aesthetics, life-styles, and social relations of 18th-century China. The intricate strands of its plot depict the rise and decline of a family much like Cao’s own and, by extension, of the dynasty itself. Cao depicts the power of the father over the family, but the novel is intended to be a memorial to the women he knew in his youth: friends, relatives and servants. At a more profound level, the author explores religious and philosophical questions, and the writing style includes echoes of the plays and novels of the late Ming, as well as poetry from earlier periods. Cao apparently began composing it in the 1740s and worked on it until his death in 1763 or 1764. Copies of hi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ba Jin
Ba Jin (Chinese: 巴金; pinyin: ''Bā Jīn''; 1904–2005) was a Chinese writer. In addition to his impact on Chinese literature, he also wrote three original works in Esperanto, and as a political activist he wrote '' The Family''. Name He was born as Li Yaotang, with alternate name Li Feigan. He used the pen name Ba Jin, for which he is most known. The first character of his pen name may have been taken from Ba Enbo, a classmate of his who committed suicide in Paris, and the last character of which is the Chinese equivalent of the last syllable of Peter Kropotkin (克鲁泡特金, Ke-lu-pao-te-jin). He was also sometimes known as Li Pei Kan. Biography Ba Jin was born in Chengdu, Sichuan. It was partly owing to boredom that Ba Jin began to write his first novel, ''Miewang'' (“Destruction”). In France, Ba Jin continued his anarchist activism, translating many anarchist works, including Kropotkin's ''Ethics'', into Chinese, which was mailed back to Shanghai's anarchist m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kaoliang Wine
Kaoliang liquor, Gaoliang liquor or Sorghum liquor is a strong distilled liquor of Chinese origin made from fermented sorghum. It is a type of light-aroma Baijiu. The liquor originates from Dazhigu (, located east of Tianjin), first appearing in the Ming Dynasty and is widely consumed across northern China in provinces such as Hebei, Shaanxi, and Shandong. It is primarily made and sold in China and Taiwan, but is also popular in Korea, where it is called ''goryangju'' (hangul: ; hanja: ) or ''bbaegal'' (which originates from the Chinese character ). Kaoliang ranges usually between 38 and 63 percent alcohol by volume. At present, world's highest alcohol content of kaoliang liquor is up to 92% produced by Chyi Leh Wei Distillery () in Taiwan. Famous brands from Taiwan Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor is one of the most popular brands of kaoliang in Taiwan. As its name indicates, it is produced on the island of Kinmen. The mainstays of the range are the standard 58 percent and 38 percent al ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Life Movement
The New Life Movement () was a government-led civic campaign in the 1930s Republic of China to promote cultural reform and Neo-Confucian social morality and to ultimately unite China under a centralised ideology following the emergence of ideological challenges to the status quo. Chiang Kai-shek as head of the government and the Chinese Nationalist Party launched the initiative on 19 February 1934 as part of an anti-Communist campaign, and soon enlarged the campaign to target the whole nation. Chiang and his wife, Soong Mei-ling, who played a major role in the campaign, advocated a life guided by four virtues, '' lǐ'' (禮/礼, proper rite), '' yì'' (義/义, righteousness or justice), ''lián'' (廉, honesty and cleanness) and ''chǐ'' (恥/耻, shame; sense of right and wrong). The campaign proceeded with help of the Blue Shirts Society and the CC Clique within the Nationalist Party, and Christian missionaries in China.Schoppa, R. KeithThe Revolution and Its Past(New York: Pears ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Movie
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere through the use of moving images. These images are generally accompanied by sound and, more rarely, other sensory stimulations. The word "cinema", short for cinematography, is often used to refer to filmmaking and the film industry, and to the art form that is the result of it. Recording and transmission of film The moving images of a film are created by photographing actual scenes with a motion-picture camera, by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques, by means of CGI and computer animation, or by a combination of some or all of these techniques, and other visual effects. Before the introduction of digital production, series of still images were recorded on a strip of chemically sensitized ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |